Monday, May 19, 2014

Why I Am Happy I'm Drowning

Remember that time I wrote a letter to my kitchen sink? This post started out that way. It was going to be one of those "whine, whine, whine...look at all these clothes I have to put away after I've gone to all the trouble of washing them" rants. Honestly, part of me still wants to write that post.

But really? Even though I know there are a lot of you mamas out there who can probably raise your hands and say it's crazy-laundry-city at your house, too, that's probably not the best use of my writing time or your reading time.

The truth is this: yeah, I do a ton of laundry. A TON. It's actually a fact that I have never, ever, not even once been "caught up" on the laundry since my daughter was born eighteen months ago. I have piles of dirty clothes in my hallway, beside my bed, on my bed, in my kids' room, on the staircase, on the floor outside the laundry room, in both upstairs bathrooms, and on the floor in the laundry room. I have piles of clean laundry on top of the dryer, on top of the freezer, on my bed, on the arm of the couch, and on the kitchen table. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't sometimes lose track of what is clean and what is dirty.

Before I had two kids, I didn't particularly mind doing laundry. It's kind of relaxing, right? Not a whole lot of work to just throw some clothing in a machine. But now that I've been in a constant state of being unable to keep up for over a year, I definitely don't love this chore.

I'm trying to find the silver lining. What right do I have to complain, when I still have a closet full of clean clothes to wear even when the piles of laundry are three feet deep? My kids have clothes that are covered in food and dirt, but that's just evidence that they are healthy and acting like normal kids. Sometimes we run out of sheets because the kids sleep in our bed and spit up or vomit or pee through all the layers of bedding....three nights in a row....but at least we still have a bed to sleep on, even if we're using an assortment of random blankets.

This parenting thing is hard, and so far doesn't seem to be getting any easier. I'm guessing that means I'm not going to catch up on the laundry for a long, long time. I know there are going to be a lot of days when that makes me crazy. Hopefully I can find the bright side more often than not.

What's your best trick for staying positive even when you feel like giving up?

2 comments:

It's ok. I don't have kids and I have boxes of sorted laundry in my room and I honestly don't remember the last time I was "caught up." I'm not sure if that is really even possible considering that I am always WEARING clothes that will have to go somewhere when I take them off. Laundry really is never ending.